February joins January in extreme drought conditions

After facing unprecedented drought conditions in January, Israelis encountered a similarly problematic month of February, the Water Authority said on Monday. During February, there was primarily a single episode of rain that impacted the water, and Lake Kinneret rose only 2 centimeters – in comparison to 37 centimeters in the same period last year. Since the beginning of the rainy season, the Kinneret has only risen 4 centimeters, in comparison to 1.97 meters during the same period last year, data from the Water Authority revealed.

"Such a situation has not been documented since 1927," a statement from the authority said.

The country's northern basins have only received 30 percent of what they typically do in February, coastal areas have only received about 10%, according to the data. Despite the shortage of rainfall, Water Authority officials stressed that the country is not expected to experience any shortage of water in quality or quantity, due to advanced preparations undertaken. -Sharon Udasin